KC Edventures Guide for Ages 9-11

National Agricultural Hall of Fame

Explore the many buildings at the National Agriculture Museum and Hall of Fame! Kids can learn how bees help provide us with food, explore interactive exhibits on milking and farming, tour the buildings to see farm equipment and do farm chores or ride the miniature train.

Before Your Visit:

Wear comfortable shoes as there is a lot of walking at the Ag.

Consider visiting during one of their special events when additional family-friendly activities are offered.

The miniature train runs Weds – Fri and Sundays in the summer months.

Explore The Ag Museum:

The National Agricultural Center has several buildings that you can visit.

Explore the Old Town:

See the 1917 One-room schoolhouse to learn how kids use to attend school

The General Store area depicts what shopping would have been like in the early 1900’s

The Poultry hatchery is open during special events - stop by and visit the hens

The Blacksmith also works during special events and school tours

Don't forget to see the Train depot for a ride on the miniature train

Smith House is an old farm house

Stop in the backyard and help do some farm chores such as hanging the laundry and grinding corn to feed the hens.

Talk to your kids about how older houses differ from the ones we live in: No electricity, no cupboards in the kitchen since there wasn’t food to store, everything was harvested or made daily.

Point out some of the unique items: phonograph, bird cage was a very popular decoration, sewing machine was necessary, and chamber pots in the bedrooms.

In the Poultry Building, kids can learn about hens & eggs

See the huge rooster collection from around the world – how many countries are represented?

Learn what happens after the hens lay eggs - how are they sorted and brought to markets.

The Tractor Building has many old tractors, cars, etc. Kids can also plant seeds to take home.

The Dairy Exhibit in main building lets kids milk some (pretend) cows, play a game of cow pie toss, gather eggs and look around for ‘’Little man’ & Bigman’, the Ag’s cats.

There are many things to explore in the main building:

Corn exhibit – learn about all the things that are made from corn

Buzz your way through a giant beehive - Do a bee dance, dress up like a beekeeper, learn about pollination and find out where the bees have gone.

See the Telephone & Bank collections –View old time switchboards and phones – Check out the collection of mechnical ‘piggy’ banks – there's even one to try!

Learn More:

"Farmer Boy" by Laura Ingalls Wilder - This is the story of Almanzo Wilder as a boy who grew up on a farm in New York. Kids will enjoy reading about the various responsibilities that children had on a farm, along with what they did for fun in the late 1800s.

"Our Farm" by Michael J. Rosen is the real-life story of one family's life as they farm together. The story is told by the children and explains the kid's activities on the farm throughout the seasons of the year.